AES E-Library

AES E-Library

A Headphone-Free Head-Tracked Audio Telepresence System

We have developed a headphone-free bidirectional immersive audio telepresence system. The primary user of the system experiences four-channel audio from a remote location while sitting or standing in a 360-degree surround projection display cube. The display cube incorporates numerous acoustic enhancements, including tilted screens, an anechoic ceiling, and speakers ported through slits in the display cube edges. Head tracking based on near-infrared video technology obtains both the user 's head position and orientation. Users can then vary the orientation of their projected voice at the remote location merely by rotating their own head. Similarly, the arrival time and volume of sound channels transmitted from the remote location are varied automatically in the display cube based on the position of the user’s head, to help maintain proper perceived interaural time and level differences between multiple channels.